common name: bayberry whitefly
scientific name: Parabemisia myricae (Kuwana) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae: Aleyrodinae)
The whitefly, Bemisia myricae, was described by Kuwana (1927) from Japan on the hosts
Myrica rubra, Morus alba, and Citrus. Takahashi (1952) transferred this whitefly to the genus Parabemisia because of long marginal setae on the so-called "pupal" case and blunt lateral
tubercles at the base of the lingula.
Bayberry whitefly was first discovered in the United States by California agriculture officials
in 1978 (Rose et al. 1981), and in Florida by agriculture officials in early 1984 (Hamon 1986).
Early dense populations caused defoliation in California citrus (Rose et al. 1981), but this has
not happened in Florida. The early finds in Florida were under natural biological control by
hymenopterous parasites, including Eretmocerus sp. Apparently the parasites were introduced
with the whitefly. According to Mike Rose (personal communication), the Eretmocerus species
present in Florida is the same as that found in California.
It was not until 1989 that any population in Florida was large enough to cause damage. This
occurred in a nursery/greenhouse of the United States Sugar Corporation, Clewiston, Florida,
on small citrus seedlings. A chemical control program was being carried out which eliminated
the Eretmocerus sp., but not the bayberry whitefly. Outdoors, this whitefly is under biological
control in Florida, and is only a problem in situations where natural balances are disturbed by
the use of chemicals.
This whitefly is only known from California and Florida in the United States. Foreign
distribution includes China, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Venezuela.
The fourth nymphal skin has 30 to 32 marginal setae including the caudal setae. The anterior
spiracular furrows are scarcely visible, but the caudal furrow is slightly ridged longitudinally.
The vasiform orifice is elongate triangular with the lingula included. The lingula has two blunt
lateral tubercles and two long caudal lingular setae. The operculum covers only the anterior
one-third of the vasiform orifice. In vivo, the nymphs are surrounded by a marginal fringe of
clear wax.
 |
 |
| Fourth nymphal skin "pupal case" of the bayberry whitefly, Parabemisia myricae
(Kuwana), v=ventral view, d= dorsal view |
Vasiform oriface [ a - linguala, b - operculum ] of the nymph of the bayberry
whitefly, Parabemisia myricae (Kuwana)
|
| Illustrations by: Division of Plant Industry |
nymphal
The adult is a small whitish-yellow moth-like insect that flits about when disturbed. The adults
have a strong ovipositional preference for very young foliage in the "feather" stage (Walker and
Aitken 1985). The adult will frequently place eggs along the leaf margin. At first, the eggs are
white, but turn black in a few days.
adult
Camellis sinensis, Chiococca alba, Citrus spp., Diospyros kaki, Elaeocarpus serratus, Ficus carica, Gardenia jasminoides, Machilus sp., Maesa japonica, Morus alba, Myrica rubra, Prunus mume, Prunus persica, Prunus triflora, Psidium guajava, Quercus serrata, Rhododendron sp., Salix babylonica, and Salix gracilistyla. The most favored hosts are Citrus spp. and gardenia.
- Evans GA, Hamon AB. (5 November 2002). Whitefly taxonomic and ecological Web site: an on-line interactive catalog of the whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) of the world and their parasites and
predators. http://www.fsca-dpi.org/homoptera_hemiptera/Whitefly/whitefly_catalog.htm (13 November 2002).
- Hamon AB. 1986. Parabemisia myricae (Kuwana). p. 33. In 35th Biennial Report, Division
of Plant Industry. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Kuwana, I. 1927. On the genus Bemisia (Family Aleyrodidae) found in Japan, with
description of new species. Annotnes Zool. Japan. 11: 245-253. (Not seen)
- Mound LA, Halsey SH. 1978. Whitefly of the World. A systematic catalogue of the
Aleyrodidae (Homoptera) with host plant and natural enemy data. BM (NH) and John Wiley
& Sons. Chichester. 340 p.
- Rose M, DeBach P, Woolley J. 1981. Potential new citrus pest: Japanese bayberry
whitefly. California Agriculture 35: 22-24, illus.
- Rose M, DeBach P. 1982. A native parasite of bayberry whitefly. Citrography October: 272-276.
- Takahashi R. 1952. Aleurotuberculatus and Parabemisia of Japan (Aleyrodidae:
Homoptera). Misc. Rep. Res. Inst. Nat. Resour. Tokyo 25: 17-24.
- Walker GP, Aitken DCG. 1985. Oviposition and survival of bayberry whitefly, Parabemisia myricae (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) on lemons as a function of leaf age. Environmental Entomology 14: 254-257.
-
Walker GP. 1987. Probing and oviposition behavior of the bayberry whitefly (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) on young and mature lemon leaves. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 80: 524-529.
Authors: Avas B. Hamon (retired), Ru Nguyen, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, and Harold Browning, University of Florida.
Originally published as DPI Entomology Circular 328.
Photographs and Illustrations: Division of Plant Industy, Jeffrey Lotz, DPI, and Harold Browning, University of Florida
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-138
Publication Date: June 2000. Latest revision: November 2002.
Copyright 2000-2002 University of Florida
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